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User blog:Dargoo Faust/Lord Harkon vs. Miraak
The Elder Scrolls is a series with many a "dark ancient evil of the past what will kill the world", and Skyrim is not nearly an exception. Its DLCs introduced two colorful villains that antagonize the Dragonborn and his or her efforts, one the leader of the Volkihar clan of vampires, and the other an ancient Dragon Priest turned acolyte of the Deadric Lord Hermaus Mora. In the end, however, which ancient evil is truly the bigger threat? Will the master Vampire feast on the blood of a dragonborn, or will Miraak return to reek havoc on the entirety of Tamriel? Lord Harkon, patron of the Volikar clan of vampries and antagonist of the Dawnguard DLC. VS. Miraak, the first dragonborn and thrall of Herma-Mora, antagonist of the Dragonborn DLC. WHO IS THE DEADLIEST?! SEASON 1 EPISODE 12 ELDER SCROLLS ARENA Lord Harkon Lord Harkon is the patron of the Volkihar Clan of Vampires, and serves as the primary antagonist to the Dawnguard DLC independent of the faction chosen by the player. Thousands of years before the events of Skyrim, Harkon struck a deal with the daedric prince Molag Bal, offering the lives of a thousand innocents in return for the gift of immortality. In return, the prince turned Harkon and his wife and child into pure-blooded vampires, capable of powerful dark magic. Still fearing his mortality in spite of this gift, Harkon uncovered a prophesy named the Tyranny of the Sun, created by a corrupted snow elf priest. It stated that an ancient artifact named Auriel's Bow, when tainted with the blood of a daughter of Coldharbour, would blot out the sun and allow vampires free reign over the day. His wife, Valerica, knowing this meant the sacrifice of herself or her daughter, locked herself in the Soul Cairn and her daughter in a tomb for thousands of years, before she would be uncovered by the Last Dragonborn. |-|Weapons= Harkon's Sword With an Akaviri design, Harkon's one-handed sword bears a resemblance to a Wakizashi, although it is weaker than a typical blades sword. Harkon's sword really shines in its enchantment: When wielded by a vampire, the sword drains a sizable portion of health, magicka, and stamina on every strike, blocked or not. Drain Life Spell Like other vampires, Harkon can cast a spell that drains the life energy of his foes for his own, albeit at a slower rate when he isn't in his Vampire Lord form. |-|Armor= Vampire Royal Armor Worn only by the leaders of clan Volkihar, Harkon uses an enchanted light armor that allows his magicka to regenerate twice as fast, giving him more fuel for his Vampire Lord form spells and life drain abilities. It's constructed of a leather plate over the chest, two leather gloves, and leather boots. The remaining portions of the body are either uncovered or covered in cloth. In-game, the armor ranks slightly higher than leather armor in terms of strength. |-|Powers= Vampire Lord Transformation Harkon is one of the few and the most powerful Vampire Lord, which allows him to undergo a physical transformation into a powerful magical being. In this form, Harkon has exceedingly superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes, as well as a wide variety of spells and abilities he has access to, such as Invisibility and Night Vision. In and out of this state, Harkon is highly resistance to frost-based attacks, but susceptible to fire-based attacks. Blood Magic *Drain Life - An enhanced version of the typical vampire spell, Harkon can sap the vitality of his foes to restore his own health. *Raise Dead - Harkon can raise powerful corpses to do his bidding, anywhere from skeleton thralls to reviving his Gargoyle minions. However, when a reanimated thrall is killed, it disintegrates and cannot be revived again. *Invisibility - During his battle with the Dragonborn, Harkon turns invisible to get the upper hand, retreating to higher ground while leaving his opponent to fend off an onslaught of skeletons and gargoyles. This ability, however, wears off once Harkon is damaged. *Summon Gargoyle - Harkon can summon several Gargoyle minions, which harass his enemies while he pushes forward the attack. Gargoyles are superhuman monsters made of out of solid stone, which can jump at high speeds at enemies and attack with deadly claws. *Corpse Curse - A powerful paralyzation spell, which renders targets immobile for ten seconds if they cannot resist the magic. This, however, takes up a large portion of the user's magicka, meaning it can only be used seldomly in battle. Night Powers *Bats - To escape an inopportune situation, Harkon can transform into a cloud of bats every couple of dozen seconds, flying away to higher ground or a safe spot to confuse his foes and recuperate. *Vampire Sight - Harkon has an enhanced vision in the night, illuminating dark corners and seeing in the nighttime with perfect clarity. *Detect All Creatures - Harkon can see enemies through walls via his enhanced senses, with living beings appearing as clouds of blood red smoke in the distance. *Mist Form - Once every minute, Harkon can become a cloud of mist, losing his ability to hit or be hit. In this state, he can recuperate and regain some of his lost health. *Supernatural Reflexes - Harkon can enter a state of enhanced perception and speed for a short period of time, appearing as if time is slowed down in the state. In reality, Harkon is moving at inhuman speeds, too fast for his opponents to react. * Night Cloak - Harkon is passively surrounded by a cloud of bats that drain the health of enemies within melee range. |-|Harkon in action= Notes * Harkon will not have access to an alter of Molag Bal to heal from. * As there is no day and night cycle in Coldharbour or Apocrypha, Harkon will have neither the consequences of being in daylight nor the benefits of the night. * This battle takes place before the events of Dawnguard. * Harkon will have Skeltons to resurrect on the floor of the arena. Miraak Miraak was one of the ancient Dragon Preists that served Alduin and his kin during the ancient Merethic Era, before coming into possession of one of the Black Books of the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora. Under the tutelage of the prince of forbidden knowledge, Miraak learned a shout capable of bending the will of his enemies, even the immortal dragons. Using his heritage as a dragonborn, he staged a coup against his dragon lords, killing and absorbing the souls of dozens of dragons before a fateful confrontation with the dragon priest Vahlok. Crippled and dying, Miraak suddenly dissipated from the face of Nirn, and was assumed to be dead. In reality, he was taken into the realm of Apocrypha to serve as a thrall of Hermaeus Mora for eternity. Trapped in a realm of Oblivion, Miraak plotted his return to his island of Solsteim, eventually gathering enough knowledge and power to manifest himself in the minds of its denizens and attracting the interest of the Last Dragonborn. |-|Main Weapon= Miraak's Sword As an ode to his mysterious master, Herma-Mora, Miraak uses a sword that has no real life counterpart, looking like an enormous blade wreathed in tentacles with an eye in its guard. When swung, the sword forms a poisonous tentacle whip that drains a sizable portion of stamina. Where Miraak's sword shines, however, is its composition: the sword is stronger than any other in the game, even surpassing Daedric weaponry. Miraak's Staff Miraak uses a powerfully enchanted Staff to create a wall of writhing poisonous tentacles that poses a passive threat on the battlefield floor. They drain stamina and health, and have a lingering damaging effect until the enemy is completely out of their range. |-|Armor= Dragon Priest Mask Like his breatheren, Miraak uses an enchanted mask given to him by his dragon overlords, which fortifies is Magicka, giving him a larger pool of mana to fuel his spells. His mask is magical in nature, surpassing even Daedric armor in strength. Miraak's Robes Miraak doesn't cover the rest of his body in armor, however he has a powerful set of enchanted robes. They have two enchantments: one allows him to absorb a quarter of the magicka of offensive spells and shouts used against him, the other gives him a chance to spawn an explosion of poisonous tentacles on his enemies whenever he strikes them. |-|Powers= The Thu'um and Magic As a Dragonborn, Miraak can absorb the ancient knowledge of Dragons he kills to utilize various powerful shouts, which are essentially magical powers that can be used without the need of Magicka. While not at the level of the Greybeards, Miraak is far more afluent in the art than the Last Dragonborn, and uses various shouts in tandem with one another, bearing only a small cooldown of around a dozen seconds. Shouts *Fire Breath - Like a classic dragon, Miraak can shout a powerful burst of flame at his foes, doing passive damage over time as long as the enemy is on fire. *Frost Breath - Miraak can also blast his enemies in a shout of frost, slowing them down and draining their stamina. *Dragon Aspect - Taking on the semblance of a powerful dragon, Miraak can only use this shout once a day (although it should last longer than the duration of the battle). It enhances his other shouts, gives him a spectral armor that makes up for his lack of coverage, and greatly enhances his strength and stamina. *Become Ethereal - When Miraak is at low health, he uses this shout to become invulnerable, but unable to attack back. When in this state, he typically retreats to call one of his Dragons to heal from. *Cyclone - Like Unrelenting force, the Cyclone shout throws an enemy into the air with a strong gust of wind, dealing lighting damage to them before allowing gravity to do its work and stun his enemies. *Whirlwind Sprint - Miraak can move at incredible speeds in short burst, typically using this shout to escape an unfortunate position and call down a dragon to heal from. *Unrelenting Force - The classic Skyrim shout, unrelenting force sends foes even as powerful as Harkon flying in the opposite direction, stunning them until they get back on their feet. Spells *Lighting Bolt - Miraak is a capable mage, using the lighting bolt spell to fling heavy-hitting magical attacks at his foes. They also do light damage to magicka and stamina. *Wards - A ward is a restoration spell used as a shield against other spells. Miraak's ward blocks offensive spells for a number of seconds before breaking and needing to be recast. *Self Healing - Miraak can also cast a self-healing spell to give him short bursts of health regeneration. |-|Miraak in action= Notes * Miraak will not be able to summon his three Dragons to heal from. * This battle takes place before the events of Dragonborn. X-Factors Setting As Vampires accumulate in greater numbers across the face of Skyrim, a number of the menace reaches the island of Solsteim and raze the city of Raven Rock. Harkon's army sweeps over the island until an unnamed thrall discovers a Black Book of Hermaeus Mora, returning it to an altar of Molag Bal as sacrifice. Enraged, Hermaeus Mora challenges Molag Bal in a classic battle of strength, offering to wager each of their strongest champions in a fight to the death, with the winner keeping the Black Book. Molag Bal calls upon the ancient vampire Harkon and Hermaeus Mora pulls Miraak from his realm, and the two fight in an arena inbetween the realms of Coldharbour and Apocrypha. The battle will take place in a unique arena, half of which being the Summit of Apocrypha, and the other half being a section of Coldharbour resembling the chamber in which Harkon is fought in the Dawnguard DLC. Voting Rules MIRAAK WINS 3.5-0 Battle 5th of First Seed, 4E 202 "If the Elder Scrolls refuse to show me my destiny, I'll grab it by the slippery hands of that trickster himself." Castle Volkiar was enjoying another feast when Lord Harkon called for a gathering in the banquet hall, although the entree crafted from their cattle was a bit stringy for such a momentous occasion. Alas, good human flesh was just such an inconvenience to acquire, but the genuine cut made it all the more worth it. It had been thousands of years since Valerica's betrayal, and Harkon's patience had finally worn thin. He was cold and calculated, yes, but his ambition surpassed even the barriers of Mundas, as this find would soon prove. Harkon lifted his hand, being enough of a signal for the hall to fall into silence. "Our recent incursions into the Dark Elves' land has proved fruitful. The tyranny of the sun has eluded us for long enough, and now the Daedric Prince of secrets will hand me it, or see his influence on this plane wane into insignificance." He pulled out a book half the size of his torso, cloaked in an obsidian leather that twisted in directions that defied logic. "Witness the blessings of Molag Bal touch a piece of a god." Some of the specters went wide-eyed. All of Volikar's vampires were old enough to know that challenging Hermaus Mora was a suicide pact, and they went to their knees in fear realizing that Harkon was willing to go through those lengths to reach the prophesy. Harkon lifted his hand, which was charged with a crimson energy, and slowly moved it towards the book. Soon they became inseparably close, the book forming a barrier of ink-blotted words that literally leapt from the pages. Harkon grinned, then pulled back his hand to land a final blow to the artifact. Yet, just as he was ready to dispose of it, a puddle of eyes and tentacles materialized near him. "Hermaus Mora. It's been far too long." A bellowing voice sounding like thousands of bursting pustules regarded Harkon. "I have been watching you, pawn of Bal, but I trade in knowledge, not meaningless threats of violence." He continued, "Nevertheless, there is a price for everything you seek. Your prince and myself have arranged a wager if you want to learn the secrets of the Sun." "I know your game, Mora. More matter, less art." "Open the book, and you will meet my champion in the crossection between Apocrypha and Coldharbour. If you defeat him in combat, I will give you the information you seek." A member of Harkon's court jumped to his feet in protest, "Don't listen to his lies, Harkon! The prophesy isn't wort-" Just as the vampire had risen, Harkon merely lifted his hand, and a bloody energy connected the two for a split second. A moment later, a pile of dust had collapsed onto the table. "Now, you must tell me of this champion." ~ "You must be joking, Mora." "The loss of a Black Book is no joke, Miraak! You know that all too well." "I am your thrall, but leave your dirty work to a pack of seekers. Or, maybe if this fool is feeling brave, a lurker or two." The thousands of eyes revolving around the first dragonborn all turned to his direction. A book appeared near Miraak's foot, some sort of Moth Preist Lexicon. "All the information you require is here. Don't dissapoint me, Dragonborn. After all, I have only one spare." Miraak was first taken aback at this statement, but reluctantly picked up the book and waved his master away. He read thought the pages of the lexicon describing the scrolls of Sun and Blood, but his intrest peaked when he turned to the final page. He unscheted his sword and staff, and prepared his spells. "This man thinks he can fight fate," he read to the page describing the Elder Scroll of Dragon, "but fate decrees that I will return to Mundus and rule over Solsteim." "MUL... QUA DIIV!" 'As Miraak took on the spectral form of a dragon, his ambition grew too large to be contained. "I am done being Hermaeus Mora's pawn." ~ Harkon was waiting impatiantly in Coldharboar, with only the rattling screams of the countless atrocities outside of his chambers giving him a breif comfort. He was a lion amongst sheep, reduced to hiding in a castle some travellers had already thought to be abandoned. He couldn't stomach the taste of being restrained by the Sun, and by the world of the living. Having all the time in the world only made this exponentially more unbearable. Harkon's impatience was met with curiosity, however, as half of the room opened into a circular arena, with a sulfuric air penetrating his nostrils as the unfathomable skies of Apocrypha broke into his vision, spread above an eternal sea of bile. Harkon had read about travelers to this realm, seeking to be intoxicated by the knowledge within, yet Harkon only had taste for one text that the entire damned library could offer. The key to this text stood, unmoving, in front of him. The sight alone peaked Harkon's interest, as most vampires could recognize a dragon priest, yet even fewer of his age could recognize a ''living dragon priest. Harkon cautiously stepped forward, carefully readying a blood spell in case introductions went awry. As if on cue, the figure adressed him. "Put away your magic, servant of Molag Bal. Although, Molag Bal would take joy in those underhanded tactics," the figure spoke through a mask of a solid, unidentifiable metal, in the shape of another otherworldly creature. "Our masters are laughing at us, you know." "Skip the pleasentries." "Ah. I respect men of action. Let me ask one question, then." "Make it quick," Harkon sneered. "How many dragons have you killed?" With that, Miraak rose both hands before violently throwing them down with a magical energy, before a tear in Oblivion conjured two Seekers. The figure turned towards Harkon, who maintained a collected stance, then spoke. "Zu'u Los Dovakiin. I have killed hundreds." ~ A vampire of a high ranking bloodline, no doubt. Yet strength and even tactics had little to do with this encounter. Miraak was a master of his own fate, and could worry less about a mage who had made himself a parasite. Instead of charging his enemy head on, Miraak rapidly maneuvered around the battlefield, letting his Seekers get close and probe out spells before they became unwanted surprises. As if with equal speed, his opponent dashed towards each monster before impaling them with an Akaviri sword, which reeked of blood magic, and, now, the bodily fluids of daedra. The other Seeker's tentacles crinkled and dried as a crimson wave of mana connected it to the vampire, reducing it to dust in seconds. Miraak knew the bloodsucker was hiding something, however. The bloody tendrils shot at Miraak. "'''WULD!", boomed the Dragon Priest, pushing himself faster than his opponent as he drew the staff and sword Herma Mora had crafted for him. He swung, the blade oozing into a black tentacle and spraying the area with fast-working toxins. Harkon, unfazed, swung his blade and grazed the edge of his opponent's robes, the blow repulsed by an illustrious aura the dragonborn had conjured earlier. Harkon turned to mist, teleporting onto a winding walkway in Coldharbor's half of the arena, and addressed his enemy. "So, the dragon has his fangs. Yet you are prey, like any other mortal." "You ask me to end pleasantries, and now you keep me waiting for banter. I'll ask of you the same request." "Yes, quite. Then, Dragonslayer, I will show you something beyond even the winged beasts you felled before my time." "Show me, then. Show me if you are worthy to bend fate." And with that, Miraak observed the vampire surround himself with a black, oozing liquid, as his body tore itself apart and put itself back together, bulking in muscle but maintaining the inhuman shape of a creature corrupted by Molag Bal. ~ Assuming the Vampire Lord form, Harkon blitzed around his enemy with confidence, rasing gargoyles out of the stone below them and directing devastating blood spells towards his opponent. The dragonborn was quick to pull out his staff, which sprayed a writhing mass of tentacles that gripped and tore at Harkon's summons. Miraak calmly stepped through the wall he had set up, and charged his fists with blindingly hot bolts of electricity. A brief magical firefight took place, as streams of blood and bolts of lighting flew from side to side, each spell that landed staggering either fighter. They appeared to be on even terms, yet Harkon heard his opponent make a sharp intake of breath. Realizing what was about to happen all too late, he heard a resounding shout, "YOL... TUR SUL!" A violent wave of fiery mana swept through and melted the brittle stone of the balcony, Harkon recoiling and shifting into mist to get away from another spray of poisonous tentacles. Coughing smoke, Harkon called upon necromancy to raise the fallen daedra around them and his lost gargoyles, forming a group that surrounded the dragonborn. Blasting magic and slashing claws, the servant of Hermaeus Mora seemed to struggle as Harkon moved closer to claim a kill with his own two hands. "I have no need to bend fate. When I read the Prophesy of the Sun, fate will drive my kind out of the shadows." Miraak failed to respond, focused on slashing apart the zombies into dust. However, Harkon noticed another sharp intake of breath, and immediately activated his vampire reflexes, jumping at incredible speeds to a safe distance. However, different words of power escaped the mouth this time. "GOL...HAH!" Suddenly, a wave of golden energy drove its way through Harkon's small army, even hitting and disorienting the vampire himself as he suddenly felt the connection to each of his servants violently sever themselves. Before Harkon could react, he heard another shout, this one more familiar. "WULD...NAH KEST!" With a flash of wind and dark energy Miraak nearly teleported behind Harkon as the vampire spun to face his foe. Before the Vampire Lord could dissipate into mist, a sharp thrust sent a spire of writhing flesh into his chest, seeping ancient poison into his veins. "As long you blindly follow fate, you are a slave. A sheep, as you'd call it. Die like a sheep, then, lion. You will die in ignorance so that I may live as a king of my homeland." With his Magicka and Stamina expended, Harkon reverted forms, and ancient blood spilled over the even more ancient Summit of Apocrypha. WINNER - MIRAAK Expert's Opinion Experts agreed that Miraak's varied use of magic and raw power trumped Harkon's laid back strategy that relied on ultimately weaker servants. Combined with direct counters to this strategy such as Bend Will and Unrelenting Force, as well as shouts that took advantages of Harkon's weaknesses like Fire Breath and Dragon Aspect, Miraak was a shoe-in to win this battle from the start. Category:Blog posts